Linkner, who founded four tech companies with a total value in excess of $200 million, says local economic-development focus on entrepreneurship is wise.

Nationally renowned entrepreneur and business leader Josh Linkner will deliver the keynote address at Thursday evening’s Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting.

This year’s event will include the annual meeting of the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County.

Chamber and coalition officials will discuss successes of the past fiscal year and goals for the upcoming years starting at 5 p.m. at The Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville. The meeting will conclude at 8 p.m.

During a phone interview last week, the Detroit-based Linkner said he would share specific techniques and “practical tools to drive real progress” in Asheville.

Using entrepreneurs to do that is among the ways “non-traditional markets” like Asheville and Detroit can do that, said Linkner, who has founded and served as CEO of four tech companies.

Those businesses ultimately accrued a total value in excess of $200 million.

Linkner praised efforts by Asheville chamber and economic-coalition officials who have promoted the uniqueness of the region to attract and cultivate talent, rather than attempt to replicate the models of success used in places such as Silicon Valley.

“There are a lot of advantages here,” said Linkner, ticking off Asheville’s coolness, proximity to other major urban areas and natural beauty.

“They key is doubling down on those things to harness and encourage the region’s talent to create powerful companies,” he said.

Detroit has used that strategy of emphasizing its inherent strengths in its rebuilding efforts, Linkner said of his hometown.

He is involved in those activities, too, serving as a founding partner of Detroit Venture Partners. That organization invests in tech startups.

“I’m a huge fan of using entrepreneurship to grow underdog cities,” Linkner said. “You don’t have to be New York or San Francisco to be successful.”

Talent development is among the most important components of the Economic Development Coalition’s current five-year job-creation plan, said Ben Teague, the coalition’s executive director, in December.

The ultimate goal of that plan is to add 3,000 new local jobs that pay an average annual wage of $50,000 by the end of 2020.

Specific tactics include enhancing the manufacturing workforce pipeline by marketing to youth, hosting a climate-science conference in Asheville and targeting high-growth East Coast companies to expand or relocate to the region.

Awards scheduled to be presented at the annual meeting are:

• Excellence in Public Service Award — presented by Asheville Savings Bank

• Small Business Leader of the Year — presented by HomeTrust Bank

• Volunteer of the Year Award — presented by Roberts & Stevens

Tickets are $80 for chamber members, $100 for non-members and $600 for a table of 8 guests.

All tickets will be available for pick-up at the will-call location outside the Grove Inn’s Grand Ballroom. No tickets will be mailed.